“I am confident that the success of this year’s Easter Egg Roll will speak for itself.”
The evidence points to a quickly thrown-together affair
that people close to the planning said would probably draw about 20,000 people — substantially smaller than last year’s Easter Egg Roll, which drew 37,000.
“Every administration tries to put its own stamp on it,
but the stakes are high because it’s such a Washington tradition, and people just love it and have very strong feelings about it.”
Ms. Bates, whose memoir “White House Story” documents the challenges of planning Clinton-era Easter
Egg Rolls, said the event was a window — up to a point — into the competence of an administration.
“It’s the single most high-profile event that takes place at the White House each year,
and the White House and the first lady are judged on how well they put it on,” said Melinda Bates, who organized eight years of Easter Egg Rolls as director of the White House Visitors Office under President Bill Clinton.
Ms. Grisham said she did not have “firm numbers” on the overall number of attendees,
and those who provided estimates did so on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to describe the plans for the Easter Egg Roll, which are still evolving just a week before the event.
“You don’t understand what a beast this thing is to plan until you go
and plan your first one,” said Ellie Schafer, who organized Easter Egg Rolls for the Obamas as the director of the White House Visitors Office from 2009 to 2016.
The White House has ordered 40,000 of the commemorative eggs — about half of the roughly 85,000 ordered in 2016 — with 18,000 to be given away at the Easter Egg Roll
and another 22,000 available for sale, according to Lara Kline, the vice president for marketing and communications at the White House Historical Association, the official retailer.